The Red WHAT
by Geegees
Summary: The Order of the Phoenix are some how stuck spending their summer reading... fun right? They're reading about some people that have magical abilities but have a unique culture. Basically there stuck reading The Red Pyramid! *Not beta read**next to no ships* -HIATUS-
1. prologue

**Hey guys! So i recently read a fic called unusual muggles' and i thought it was a great idea, but I've decided that instead it would be The Kane Chronicles because it just made more sense to me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or The Kane Chronicles :(**

Dumbledore waited patiently for the other order members to come to Grimmauld place for the surprise order meeting. First were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Followed by Alastor 'Mad-eye' Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt, nest was the Weasley's Molly Arthur Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny as well as Harry and Hermione.

Harry immediately went over to his godfather and Remus; he hadn't seen them since school ended and he was glad he was away from the Dursley's for now though he and everyone else wondered why the headmaster had called this meeting.

"If everyone could sit down I will tell you all why I have called you all here," Dumbledore waited a few minutes for everyone to get settled before continuing, "now there are some people with magical abilities like us who have offered their help in the upcoming battle against Voldemort"

There was some flinching

"None of you have probably ever heard of them because they have a...unusual... culture, so to understand them you are all going to read about what they have been through. I have to go now so good bye."

With a poof the old wizard was gone and in his place was a small book.

Kingsley was the first to get out of his shock and went over and picked up the book, "It's called The Red Pyramid" By Rick Riordan."


	2. A Death at the Needle

_**Hi**_

_**so I tried to edit this some more, I tried my best I'm sorry. So Percy was mentioned as being in the group here reading the books but let pretend I didn't put him in there ok? :) Also I am really bad at making characters in character so sorry but they're OOC**_

_**I don't own either of these fine books**_

" The red WHAT!"

" Who's Rick Riordan?"

Questions came from all directions from around the table as everyone tried to be heard over the person next to them

"Silence!" Kingsley called out, "we all have questions and the answers are in this book so let us read"

"WAIT-" called Fred

"-we really have-," said George

"-to READ!" They finished together.

Not bothering to reply Kingsley turned to the first page and began to read

**WARNING**

**The following is a transcript is a transcript of a digital recording. In certain places, the audio quality was poor, so some words and phrases represent the author's best guesses. Where possible, illustrations of important symbols mentioned in the recording have been added. Background noises such as scuffling, hitting, and cursing by the two speakers have not been transcribed. The author makes no claims for the authenticity of the recording. It seems impossible that the two young narrators are telling the truth, but you, the reader, must decide for yourself.**

_"weird" _thought Harry. _"I thought only books in the restricted section had warnings...why would this one have a warning?"_

**A Death at the Needle**

"Well, that's a great way to start off" scoffed Sirius

**WE ONLY HAVE A FEW HOURS, so listen carefully.**

**If you're hearing this story, you're already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance.**

"now that was dramatic," said Mr. Weasley

**Go to the school. Find the locker.**

"what's a locker?"

"It's like a metal box that students can put their things in"

**I won't tell you which school or which locker, because if you're the right person, you'll find it. The combination is 13/32/33.**

"COOL! Now we can get in!" exclaimed an excited George

**By the time you finish listening, you'll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we're about to tell you isn't complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.**

_"A lot of things depend on,"_ me thought Harry thinking about what was expected of him when the time came to fight Voldemort

**The most important thing: when you open the package and find what's inside. don't keep it longer than a week. Sure, it'll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power.**

"No way" breathed Fred

"We want it!" called George

**But if you possess it too long, it will consume you.**

"Never mind," said George followed by some light chuckles

**Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on. Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you.**

"Aww were special" said Sirius wanting to say something

**Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.**

_like when you get a Hogwarts letter_ thought both Hermione and Harry.

Being the only ones there that grew up away from magic the minute they got those letters their life had gotten very interesting indeed

**Okay, Sadie is telling me to stop stalling and get on with the story. Fine. I guess it started in London,**

that was a surprise for some of the Order, somehow they had come to the conclusion that this would be taken place in some other part of the world and not at their own back door.

**the night our dad blew up the British Museum.**

"WHAT!" Shouted Hermione and Mrs. Weasley for different reasons.

Hermione being the knowledge lover that she is was horrified at all that knowledge and history that must have been lost in the explosion.

Molly on the other hand was worried over this child she hadn't even met yet

**My name is Carter Kane.**

"Good. We now know have a name." Said Moody for some unknown reason that the others didn't want to know

**I'm fourteen and my home is a suitcase.**

_"This guy was only two years older than I was when this all started," _thought Harry.

**You think I'm kidding? Since I was eight years old, my dad and I have traveled the world. I was born in L.A.**

**"**So he's American" Said Hermione  
**  
but my dad's an archaeologist,**

"Oh. I've heard of those," started Mr. Weasley, "They're Muggles who dig up old artifacts of ancient times"

It was quite possible that Arthur would continue on and on about all that he know of these archaeologist's in his wife didn't stop him there,

"that's enough for now Arthur" said Molly.

**so his work takes him all over. Mostly we go to Egypt, Since that's his specialty. Go into a bookstore, find a book about Egypt, there' s a pretty good chance it was written by Dr. Julius Kane.**

The name seemed to dig at Harry, he felt like he had heard it said before

**You want to know how Egyptians pulled the brains out of mummies,**

Tonks, Ginny, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ron all scrunched their noses up at this

**or built the pyramids, or cursed King Tut's tomb? My dad is your man. Of course, there are other reasons my dad moved around so much, but I didn't know his secret back then,**

"foreshadowing" sang Hermione  
**  
I didn't go to school.**

"LUCKY!" yelled the twins and Sirius  
**  
My dad homeschooled me, if you can call it "home" schooling when you didn't have a home.**

_"At least I had the cupboard,"_ thought Harry

**He sort of taught me whatever he thought was important, so I learned a lot about Egypt and basketball stats**

"Basketball's a muggle game" Said Harry seeing some confused stares

**and my dad's favourite musicians. I read a lot too-pretty much anything I could get my hands on, from dad's history books to fantasy novels-because I spent a lot of time sitting around in hotels and airports and dig sites in foreign countries where I didn't know anybody. My dad was always telling me to put the book down and play some ball. You ever try to start a game of pick-up basketball in Aswan, Egypt? It's not easy.**  
**Anyway my dad trained me early to keep all my possessions in a single suitcase that fits in an airplane's overhead compartment. My dad packed the same way, except he was allowed an extra workbag for his archaeology tools. Rule number one: I was not allowed to look in his workbag.**

"That's when you look in the bag son," said Fred in his best teacher voice with George taking notes beside him.

"Ahem" Mrs. Weasly cleared her throat and looked at the twins in the look only a mother could give you, the one that just screams _Stop-fooling-around-or-I'll-wallop-your-behind-in-front-of-everyone _  
**  
That's a rule I never broke until the day of the explosion.**

Everyone immediately tensed up thinking about this explosion and wondering if anyone got hurt

**It happened on Christmas Eve. We were in London for visitation day with my sister, Sadie.**

**See Dad's only allowed two days a year with her-one in the winter, one in the summer-**

that's sad thought everyone. Mr and Mrs. Weasley could barley handle letting their children off to school and later on off to their work, but at least then they had more than TWO days to see them every year

**because our grandparents hate him. After our mom died,**

So their moms dead too thought Harry with a downcast look, Sirius seen this and gave him a small smile and Harry gave an even smaller one back  
**  
her parents (our grandparents) had this big court battle with dad. After six lawyers, two fistfights, and a near fatal attack with a spatula**

"...what?"

**(don't ask), they won the right to keep Sadie with them in England. She was only six then, two years younger than me, and they couldn't keep us both- at least that was their excuse for not taking me**

"That's not right!" Shouted Tonks and Mrs. Weasley

Harry couldn't help but think of what would be worse, never knowing your mother or knowing and remembering her, but only having her for a few short years?

**So Sadie was raised as a British school kid, and I traveled around with my dad. We only saw Sadie twice a year, which was fine with me. So anyway, my dad and I had just flown into Heathrow after a couple delays. It was a drizzly, cold afternoon. The whole taxi ride into the city, my dad seemed kind of nervous. Now my dad was a big guy. You wouldn't think anything could make him nervous. He has dark skin like mine, piercing brown eyes, a bald head, and a goatee, so he looks like a buff evil scientist.**

"MUWAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Fred and George, doing their best evil scientist impression.

The two jokesters felt that everyone was very tense and it was their solemn duty to lighten the mood in any way possible

**That afternoon he wore his cashmere winter coat and his best brown suit, the one he used for public lectures. Usually he exudes so much confidence that he dominates any room he walks into, but sometimes -like that afternoon- I saw another side to him that I didn't really understand. He kept looking over his shoulder like we were being hunted.**

**"Dad?" I said as we were getting off the A-40. "What's wrong?"**

**"No sign of them,"**

"No sign of who!?" Sirius asked the book

"Ah, Sirius, you do know it can't answer, right?" asked his cousin Tonks

"I know that, I'm not an idiot"

**he muttered. Then he must've realized he'd spoken aloud, because he looked at me kind of startled.**

**"Nothing, Carter. Everything's fine."**

"He's lying," said Fred.

"Very terribly too." Said George

"We should teach him," they finished together.

**Which bothered me because my dad's a terrible liar. I always knew when he was hiding something, but I also knew no amount of pestering would get the truth out of him. He was probably trying to protect me,**

"From what?" was asked by everyone

**though from what I didn't know.**

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" shouted out a no-longer forgotten Mad-eye Moody

**Sometimes I wondered if he had some dark secret in his past, some old enemy following him, maybe; but the idea seemed ridiculous. Dad was just an archaeologist.**

_"And I thought I was just a nobody" _thought Harry

**The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag.**

"Why is the bag so important?" asked Remus

"Who cares, it's just a bag, isn't it?" replied Ron

**Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger. Like the time gunman stormed our hotel in Cairo. I heard shots coming from the lobby and ran downstairs**

"Why! Why would anyone run towards gunshots?!" Asked/yelled Sirius who was seriously questioning this kids mental health

**to check on my dad. By the time I got there, he was just calmly zipping up his workbag**

_"So it's important thought,"_ Remus trying to connect some dots

**while three unconscious gunman hung by their feet from the chandelier,**

a few chuckles were heard around the table as the image popped into heads

**their robes falling over their heads**

"What are wizards doing there?" asked a confused Kingsley

"Well Dumbledore did say they used magic" replied Mr. Weasley

**so you could see their boxer shorts. Dad claimed not to have witnessed anything, and in the end the police blamed a freak chandelier malfunction. Another time , we got caught in a riot in Paris. My dad found the nearest parked car, pushed me into the backseat, and told me to stay down. I pressed myself against the floor boards and kept my eyes shut tight. I could hear Dad in the driver's seat, rummaging in his bag, mumbling something to himself while the mob yelled and destroyed things outside. A few minutes later he told me it was safe to get up. Every other car on the block had been overturned and set o fire. Our car had been freshly washed and polished, and several twenty-euro notes had been tucked under the windshield wipers.**

"and he doesn't question this!" shouted Sirius,

everyone had to agree with him on that

**Anyway I had come to respect the bag. It was our good luck charm. But when my dad kept it close, it meant we were going to need good luck. We drove through the city center, heading east toward my grandparent's flat. We passed the golden gates of Buckingham Palace, the big stone column in Trafalgar Square. London is a pretty cool place, but after you've traveled for so long, all cities start to blend together. Other kids I meet say "Wow, you're so lucky you get to travel so much." But it's not like we spend our time sightseeing or have a lot of money to travel in style. We've stayed in some pretty rough places, and we hardly ever stay anywhere longer than a few days. Most of the time it feels like we're fugitives rather that tourists.**  
**I mean, you wouldn't think my dad's work was dangerous. He does lectures on topics like "Can Egyptian Magic Really Kill You?"**

"WAIT! _Egyptian_ Magic!" Harry asked.

Turning to look at the others, he seen the same shocked and confused looks from everyone.

"Could this be what the headmaster was talking about?" asked Tonks.

"I remember reading something about Egyptian magic once..." mumbled Remus. " I think it had something to do with their... no...couldn't be"

"Couldn't be what sir?" asked Hermione

"Nothing. I need more proof before I know if I'm right or not"

**and "Favourite Punishments in the Egyptian Underworld"**

"I wonder what it is?" asked Charlie

"Why?" replied Bill

**and other stuff most people wouldn't care about. But like I said, there's another side to him. He's always very cautious, checking every hotel room before he lets me walk into it. He'll dart into a museum to see some artefacts, take a few notes, and rush out again like he's to be caught on the security cameras.**

"Oh! What if he was secretly not supposed to look at this stuff!" exclaimed an excited Fred

"But he works with the old Egypt stuff" rebuked George

"It was just an idea"

**One time when I was younger, we raced across the Charles de Gaulle airport to catch a last-minute flight, and Dad didn't relax until the plane was off the ground, I asked him point black what he was running from, and he looked at me like I'd just pulled the pin of a grenade.**

"What's a grenade?" asked Mr. Weasly

"Er it's a.." Hermione started to answer, but was unsure how to best describe one

"It's a...thing... that when the pin is pulled out could level a whole block pretty much" interjected Harry

**For a second I was scared he might actually tell me the truth. Then he said, "Carter, it's nothing." As if "nothing" were the most terrible thing in the world. After that, I decided maybe it was better not to ask questions. My grandparents, the Fausts, live in a housing development near Canary Wharf, right on the banks of the River Thames. The taxi let us off at the curb, and my dad asked the driver to wait. We were halfway up the walk when Dad froze.**

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius

"We don't know yet," replied Tonks

"I was just asking"

"I was just asking" Tonks mocked, she was loving this time to make fun of her cousin.

**He turned and looked behind us.**

**"what?" I asked**

**Then I saw the man in the trench coat.**

"Never trust they guy in the trench coat," Said Moody

"Unless it's the Doctor," replied Hermione

sadly the joke was lost to everyone but Harry

**He was across the street, leaning against a big dead tree. He was barrel shaped, with skin the colour of roasted coffee. His coat and black pinstriped suit looked expensive. He had long braided hair and wore a black fedora pulled down low over his dark round glasses. He reminded me of a jazz musician, the kind my dad would always drag me to see in concert. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I got the impression he was watching us.**

"Creepy.."

**He might've been an old friend or colleague of Dad's. No matter where we went, Dad was always running into people he knew. But it did seem strange that the guy was waiting here, outside my grandparents'. And he didn't look happy.**

**"Carter," my dad said, " go on ahead."**

**"But-"**

**"Get your sister. I'll meet you back at the taxi."**

**He crossed the street toward the man in the trench coat, which left me with two choices: follow my dad and see what was going on, or do what I was told.**

"Go see what's going on!"

"He should do as he's told"

**I decided on the slightly less dangerous path. I went to retrieve my sister. Before I could even knock, Sadie opened the door.**

**"Late as usual," she said.**

"Lovely greeting that is" said Ginny sarcastically

**She was holding her cat, Muffin, who had been a "going away" gift from Dad six years before. Muffin never seemed to get older or bigger.**

"Strange... cats don't do that"

**She had fuzzy yellow-and-black fur like a miniature leopard, alert**

"CONSTANT VIGGILANCE!" Shouted Moody

"Yes thank you Mad-eye but please I would like to finish my reading."

**yellow eyes, and pointy ears that were too tall for her head. A silver Egyptian**

"It has to be..." mumbled Remus low enough that no one heard him

**pendant dangled from her collar. She didn't look anything like a muffin, but Sadie had been little when she named her, so I guess you have to cut her some slack. Sadie hadn't changed much either since last summer. You would never guess she's my sister. First of all, she'd been living in England so long, she has a British accent. Second, she takes after our mom, who was white, so Sadie's skin is much lighter than mine. She has straight caramel-coloured hair, not exactly blond but not brown, which she usually dyes with streaks of bright colours. That day it was red**

"Aww. She wants to be like us Gred"

"That's so sweet Fourge"

**streaks down the left side. Her eyes are blue. I'm serious.**

"No. That's Sirius" joked Fred, pointing across the table to Sirius

Secretly Sirius was glad that someone had finally made this joke, he had been waiting for someone other than himself to do it

_**Blue **_**eyes, just like our mom's. She's only twelve, but she's exactly as tall as me,**

"I hate when that happens" sulked Ron.

Ginny stuck her tongue out at him

**which is really annoying. She was chewing gum as usual, dressed for her day out with Dad in battered jeans, a leather jacket, and combat boots, like she was going to a concert and was hoping to stomp on some people. She had headphones dangling around her neck in case we bored her.**

**"Our plane was late," I told her.**

**She popped a bubble, rubbed Muffin's head and tossed the cat inside.**

**"Gran, going out!"**

**From somewhere in the house, Grandma Faust said something I couldn't make out, probably "Don't let them in!"**

"Oh. That's nice." Fumed Mrs. Weasley

**Sadie closed the door and regarded me as if I were a dead mouse her cat had just dragged in. "So, here you are again."**

**"Yep."**

"Does anyone else find this sad? Or is it just me 'cause I'm the oldest of a lot of siblings?" asked Bill

Everyone raised their hands showing that they all thought this was a sad relationship for siblings

**"come on, then." She sighed. "Let's get on with it."**

**That's the way she was. No "Hi, how you been the last six months? So glad to see you!" or anything. But that was okay with me. When you only see each other twice a year, it's like you're distant cousins rather than siblings. We had absolutely nothing in common except parents. We trudged down the steps. I was thinking how she smelled like a combination of old people's house and bubble gum when she stopped so abruptly, I ran into her.**

**"Who's that?" she asked.**

**I'd almost forgotten about the dude in the trench coat.**

"You can't forget about the doctor!" said Harry referring to Hermione's old comment.

**He and my dad were standing across the street next to the big tree, having what looked like a serious argument. Dad's back was turned so I couldn't see his face, but he gestured with his hands like he does when he's agitated. The other guy scowled and shook his head.**

**"Dunno," I said. "He was there when we pulled up."**

**"He looks familiar."**

"Hu?" questioned Ron

"Maybe she's seen him around" answered Hermione

**Sadie frowned like she was trying to remember. "Come on."**

**"Dad wants us to wait in the cab," I said, even though I knew it was no use. Sadie was already on the move.**

**Instead of going straight across the street, she dashed up the sidewalk for half a block, ducking behind cars, then crossed to the opposite side and crouched under a low stone wall. She started sneaking toward our dad. I didn't have much of a choice but to follow her example, even though it made me feel kind of stupid.**

**"Six years in England," I muttered, "and she thinks she's James Bond. "Sadie swatted me without looking back and kept creeping forward. A Couple more steps and we were right behind the big dead tree. I could hear my dad on the other side, saying, "-have to, Amos. You know it's the right thing."**

everyone was suddenly leaning forward eager to find out what was going on

**"No," said the other man, who must've been Amos. His voice was deep and even- very insistent. His accent was American.**

**"If **_**I **_**don't stop you, Julius, **_**they **_**will. The Per Ankh is shadowing you."**

"The Per Ankh? Hey Bill is that Egyptian?" asked Ginny

"Yea... it means House of Life I think."

Nobody noticed Remus stiffen as more puzzle pieces fell into place for him

**Sadie turned to me and mouthed the words "Per**_** what**_**?"**

**I shook my head, just as mystified. "Let's get out of here," I whispered, because I figured we'd be spotted any minute and get in serious trouble. Sadie, of course, ignored me.**

**"They don't know my plan," my father was saying "By the time they figure it out-"**

_"That doesn't sound good_," thought Harry, who knew full well that when you think someone doesn't know your plans, they usually end up knowing your plans

**"And the children?" Amos asked. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. "What about them?"**

**"I've made arrangements to protect them,"**

"Protect them from what?!" asked Mrs. Weasley  
**  
my dad said. "Besides, if I don't do this, we're all in danger. Now, back off."  
"I can't, Julius."**

**"Then it's a duel you want?" Dad's tone turned deadly serious. "You never could beat me, Amos."**

**I hadn't seen my dad get violent since the Great Spatula Incident, and I wasn't anxious to see a repeat of **_**that, **_**but the two men seemed to be edging toward a fight.**

"I really want to know more about that..." sighed Sirius.

Everyone else silently agreed

**Before I could react, Sadie popped up and shouted, "Dad!"**

**He looked surprised when she tackle-hugged him, but not as surprised as the other guy, Amos. He backed up so quickly, he tripped over his own trench coat.  
He'd taken off his glasses. I couldn't help thinking that Sadie was right. He did look familiar - like a very distant memory.**

Everyone thought to themselves, "Could they know this guy? And if so how?"  
**  
"I-I must be going," he said. He straightened his fedora and lumbered down the road.  
Our dad watched him go. He kept one arm protectively around Sadie and one hand inside the workbag**

"There has to be something about that workbag!" Cried Tonks  
**  
slung over his shoulder. Finally, when Amos disappeared around the corner, Dad relaxed. He took his hand out of the bag and smiled at Sadie. "Hello, sweetheart."  
Sadie pushed away from him and crossed her arms. "Oh, now it's **_**sweetheart, **_**is it? You're late. Visitation Day's nearly over! And what was that about? Who's Amos, and what's the Per Ankh?"  
Dad stiffened. He glanced at me like he was wondering how much we'd overheard.**

"Oh you know. Enough to keep us interested but not enough to really tell us anything." Harry said sarcastically  
**  
"It's nothing," he said, trying to sound upbeat. "I have a wonderful evening planned. Who'd like a private tour of the British Museum?"**

**Sadie slumped in the back of the taxi between Dad and me."I can't believe it," she grumbled. "One evening together and you want to do research."**

**Dad tried to smile. "Sweetheart, it'll be fun. The curator of the Egyptian collection personally invited-"**

**"Right, big surprise." Sadie blew a strand of red-streaked hair out of her face. "Christmas Eve, and we're going to see some moldy old relics from Egypt. Do you ever think about **_**anything**_** else?"**

"Hey Dad, do you ever think about anything other than muggle things?" asked Ginny

"Well of course I do. I think of lots of other things."  
**  
Dad didn't get mad. He never gets mad at Sadie. He just stared out the window at the darkening sky and the rain.**

**"Yes," he said quietly. "I do."**

_"I wonder what dads think about,"_ thought Harry  
**  
Whenever Dad got quiet like that and stared off into no-where, I knew he was thinking about mom. The last few months, it had been happening a lot. I'd walk into our hotel room and find him with his cell phone**

"A muggle device used to talk to people" said Hermione as explanation

**in his hands, Mom's picture smiling up at him from the screen- her hair tucked under a headscarf, her blue eyes startlingly bright against the desert backdrop. Or we'd be at some dig site. I'd see Dad staring at the horizon, and I'd know he was remembering how he'd met her- two young scientists in the Valley of the Kings, on a dig to discover a tomb.**

"How romantic" snickered Sirius

**Dad was and Egyptologist . Mom was an anthropologist looking for ancient DNA. He'd told me the story a thousand times. Our taxi snaked its way along the banks of the Thames. Just past Waterloo Bridge, my dad tensed.**

everyone else tensed

**"Driver," he said. "Stop here a moment."**

**The cabbie pulled over on the Victoria Embankment.**

**"What is it Dad?" I asked.**

**He got out of the cab like he hadn't heard me. When Sadie and I joined him on the sidewalk, he was staring up at Cleopatra's Needle.**

This must be the needle from the chapter title thought everyone  
**  
In case you've never seen it: the Needle is an obelisk, not a needle,**

"Then why the bloody-ell call it that then?"

"Ronald Weasley mind your mouth."

"Yes mum"

**and it doesn't have anything to do with Cleopatra. I guess the British just thought the name would be cool when they brought it to London. It's about seventy feet tall, which would've been really impressive back in Ancient Egypt, but on the Thames, with all the tall buildings around, it looks small and sad. You could drive right by it and not even realize you'd just passed something that was a thousand years older than the city of London.**

**"God." Sadie walked around in a frustrated circle. "Do we have to stop for **_**every **_**monument?"**

**My dad stared at the top of the obelisk. "I had to see it again," he murmured. "Where it happened..."**

"This is where this death happened then," said Moody  
**  
A freezing wind blew off the river. I wanted to get back in the cab, but my dad was really starting to worry me. I'd never seen him so distracted.**

**"What, Dad?" I asked. "What happened here?"**

**"The last place I saw her."  
**  
"NOOoooo he couldn't mean his wife right?" asked Sirius  
**  
Sadie stopped pacing. She scowled at me uncertainly, then back at Dad. "Hang on. Do you mean Mum?"**

"Please say no," pleaded Sirius  
**  
Dad brushed Sadie's hair behind her ear, and she was so surprised, she didn't even push him away. I felt like the rain had frozen me solid.  
**  
"That's just not right"

"SIRIUS shut up!"

"Make me _Nemphadora_ "

"Why you-"

To avoid the fight Kingsley quickly started reading out load again****

**Mom's death had always been a forbidden subject. I knew she'd died in an accident in London. I knew my grandparents blamed my dad. But no one would ever tell us the details. I'd given up asking my dad, partly because it made him so sad, partly because he absolutely refused to tell me anything. "When you're older" was all he would say, which was the most frustrating response ever.**

"I KNOW" groaned every kid (plus Sirius) in the room****

**"You're are telling us she died here," I asked. "At Cleopatra's Needle? What happened?"**

**He lowered his head.**

**"Dad!" Sadie protested. I go past this **_**every **_**day, and you mean to say- all this time- and I didn't even **_**know**_**?"**

**"Do you still have your cat?"**

"Weird question at a time like this" said Fred****

**Dad asked her, which seemed like a really stupid question.**

**"Of course I've still got the cat!" she said. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
**  
"My question exactly...not really but you get the point"

"uh Fred? Your talking to a book"****

**"And the amulet?"**

**Sadie's hand went to her neck. When we were little, right before Sadie went to live with our grandparents, Dad had given us both Egyptian amulets. Mine was an Eye of Horus,**

The pieces were really starting to point to only one last possible answer in Remus' mind  
and it was so absurd he didn't dare voice it****

**which was a popular protection symbol in Ancient Egypt. In fact my dad says the modern pharmacist's symbol ****R****, is a simplified version of the Eye of Horus, because medicine is supposed to protect you. Anyway, I always wore my amulet under my shirt, but I figured Sadie would've lost hers or thrown it away. To my surprise, she nodded. "'Course I have it, Dad, but don't change the subject. Gran's always going on about how you caused Mum's death. That's not true, is it?"  
**  
"It better not be" said Sirius

"We get it! It's messed up. We know!" shouted Tonks****

**We waited. For once, Sadie and I wanted exactly the same thing-the truth.**

**"The night your mother died," my father started, "here at the Needle-"**

Everyone leaned in more, waiting to hear the truth****

**A sudden flash illuminated the embankment. I turned, half blind, and just for a moment I glimpsed two figures: a tall pale man with a forked beard and wearing cream-colored robes, and a coppery-skinned girl n dark blue robes and a headscarf- the kind of clothes I'd seen hundreds of times in Egypt. They were just standing there side by side, not twenty feet away, watching us.**

"Creepy..."

**Then the light faded. The figures melted into a fuzzy afterimage. When my eyes readjusted to the darkness, they were gone.**

"That's like Voldy-shorts creepy..."

**"Um..." Sadie said nervously. "Did you just see that?"**

**"Get in the cab," my dad said, pushing us toward the curb. "We're out of time."  
**  
_"out of time?"_ thought Harry****

**From that point on, Dad clammed up.**

**"This isn't the place to talk," he said glancing behind us. He'd promised the cabbie an extra ten pounds if he got us to the museum in under five minutes, and the cabbie was doing his best.**

**"Dad," I tried, "those people at the river-"  
"And the other bloke, Amos," Sadie said. "Are they Egyptian police or something?"  
"Look, both of you," Dad said, "I'm going to need your help tonight. I know it's hard, but you have to be patient. I'll explain everything, I promise, after we get to the museum. I'm going to make everything right again."**

"That doesn't reassure me.." muttered Bill****

**"What do you mean?" Sadie insisted. "Make **_**what **_**right?"**

**Dad's expression was more than sad. It was almost guilty. With a chill, I thought about what Sadie had said: about our grandparents blaming him for Mom's death. That **_**couldn't **_**be what he was talking about, could it? The cabbie swerved onto Great Russell Street and screeched to a halt in front of the museum's main gates.**

**"Just follow my lead," Dad told us. "When we meet the curator, act normal."  
I was going to say that Sadie never acted **_**normal,**_** but I decided not to say anything. We climbed out of the cab. I got our luggage while Dad paid the driver with a big wad of cash. Then he did something strange.**

"Did he do the disco?" asked George****

**He threw a handful of small objects into the backseat-they looked like stones, but it was too dark for me to be sure. "Keep driving," he told the cabbie. "Take us to Chelsea."  
**  
"The disco would have been cooler..."****

**That made no sense since we were already out of the cab, but the driver sped off. I glanced at Dad, then back at the cab, and before it turned the corner and disappeared in the dark, I caught a weird glimpse of three passengers in the backseat: a man and two kids.**

"That's some strange magic" said Mr. Weasley

**I blinked. There was no way the cab could've picked up another fare to fast. "Dad-"**

**"London cabs don't stay empty very long,"**

Hermione and Harry especially agreed with this.

**he said matter-of-factly. "Come along, kids."**

**He marched off through the wrought iron gates. For a second, Sadie and I hesitated.  
"Carter,**_** what**_** is going on?"**

**I shook my head. "I'm not sure I want to know."**

**"Well, stay out here in the cold if you want, but**_** I'm **_**not leaving without an explanation." She turned and marched after our dad. Looking back on it, I should've run.**

"But where's the fun in that?" asked George****

**I should've dragged Sadie out of there and gotten as far away as possible. Instead I followed her through the gates.**


	3. An Explosion for Christmas

**You should know the drill, I do not own either works**

Kingsley closed the book and looked around the room; it was getting late and many of the order looked to be about to fall asleep.

"That is the end of the chapter, maybe we should all get some sleep now?"

"Yes. That's a wonderful idea Kingsley. Off to bed now children," said Molly as she herded all the children (Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, and George) off to bed.

When she came back down the rest of the order members were seated more closely around the table looking towards Lupin, she took a seat by her husband and waited in silence for Remus to speak.

"What is it Lupin? You've been thinking about something all night," spoke Moody

"It's just...I have an idea on what exactly we're dealing with here."

"What? With the book or You-Know-Who?," exclaimed Sirius.

"The book, it's just a theory about what type of magic we're dealing with..."

From down the table Bill Weasly gave a small gasp when he came to the same conclusion the ex-professor did, "You don't mean...?"

"Yes, I do. Do you think so too?"

" I hate to say it, but it does make sense. There are too many coincidences for it not to be true honestly."

"Sorry to break in, but do either of you care to explain what you're talking about?" asked Arthur

" Oh, sorry, um, well...I only know this because you hear a lot of things on the streets when you're constantly looking for work and Bill probably knows of this since he works in Egypt..."

"go on," prompted Tonks

"I thi - we think that the magic they are using stems from their Gods"

"I'm sorry, but what?" exclaimed Sirius from beside Remus

A lot of the order was looking at both Bill and Remus like they had grown an extra head..or three

Bill started to explain what he knew, "the Egyptians believed in a number of Gods and Goddesses, they all served a different purpose. But anyways in the legends there were always these people who were...special, they were called magicians and it was believed that they had magic from the Gods themselves."

Mad-eye looked around the table before making eye contact with Tonks and Kingsley, "actually your theories may not be so far off, there are theories suggesting that we as wizards got our magic from the Greek goddess of magic."

"And if one exists, why not the other?" added in Kingsley.

Silence swept over the room as this information was digested.

"Well ,we'll find out about all this sooner or later right? Let's all go to bed." Said Mr. Weasly.

Harry woke up to the best smell in the world in his opinion and that was Molly Weasley's cooking.

When he got downstairs, everyone was already down there and dressed, just starting to eat, "Morning." was heard throughout the room. Breakfast was relatively silent as everyone ate and when they were done Kingsley got the book from where he put it last night.

"Who wishes to read today?"

Instantly Remus, Tonks, Sirius, and Hermione put their hands up. " How about you Miss. Granger," said Kingsley as he handed the book over the Hermione.

She quickly turned to the right chapter and began to read

**An Explosion for Christmas**

**I'd been to the British museum before. In fact I've been in more museums than I like to admit- it makes me sound like a total geek.**

Hermione stopped reading for a moment and said, "There is nothing wrong with being a geek."

**Anyway, the museum was closed**

"Obviously"

**and completely dark, but the curator and two security guards were waiting for us on the front steps.  
"Dr. Kane!" The curator was a greasy little dude in a cheap suit. I'd seen mummies with more hair and better teeth.**

"Ah, EWW. Hasn't this guy heard of a little something called personal hygiene?" Gagged Ginny.

**He shook my dad's hand like he was meeting a rock star.**

Harry knew how that felt all to clearly and how annoying it could get

**"Your last paper in Imhotep**

"who" asked Charlie, but nobody really knew

**-brilliant! I don't know how you translated those spells!"**

**"Im-ho-who?"**

"That's my question!"

"shut up, maybe we'll get the answer," said Bill.

**Sadie turned to me.**

**"Imhotep," I said. "High priest, architect. Some say he was a magician. Designed the first step pyramid. You know?"**

**"Don't know," Sadie said. "Don't care. But thanks."**

"Rude"

**Dad expressed his gratitude to the curator for hosting us on a holiday. Then he put his hand on my shoulder. "Dr. Martin, I'd like you to meet Carter and Sadie."  
"Ah! Your son, obviously, and-"  
The curator looked hesitantly at Sadie. "And this young lady?"  
"My daughter," Dad said.**

**Dr. Martin's stair went temporarily blank. Doesn't matter how open-minded or polite people think they are, there's always that moment of confusion that flashes across their faces when they realize Sadie is part of our family. I hate it, but over the years I've grown to expect it.**

"That would be really annoying.."

**The curator regained his smile. "Yes, yes, of course. Right this way, Dr. Kane. We're very honoured!"**

**The security guards locked the doors behind us. They took our luggage, then one of them reached for Dad's workbag.**

"He's probably hiding the explosives in there," said Fred rather confidently

_"Why _would he have explosives?" asked Tonks

"Well if you think about it, "Said George," This guy, Carter, said that his dad blew up the British museum and that's were there at now."**  
"Ah, no," Dad said with a tight smile. "I'll keep this one."  
**"Because there's explosives in there!" shouted both Fred and George**  
The guards stayed in the foyer as we followed the curator into the Great Court. It was ominous at night. Dim light from the glass-domed ceiling cast crosshatched shadows across the walls like a giant spider web.**

Ron visibly shuddered at the mention of spiders even though it was only mentioned in a book.

**Our footsteps clicked on the white marble floor.**

**"So," Dad said," the stone."**

"What stone? HMMMMM!"

"Sirius? What are you doing?"

"...nothing"

**"Yes!" the curator said. "Though I can't imagine what new information you could glean from it. It's been studied to death- our most famous artefact, of course."**

**"Of course," Dad said. "But you may be surprised."**

BANG!  
BAM!  
POW!  
Fireworks started going off in the living room scaring everyone, Fred and George looked at each other in horror

"Did you put them by the fire place George?"

"No...they were in the laundry bag by me bed remember?"

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLY! ARE YOU RESPONCIBLT FOR ~BAND BAM POW BANG~ THIS?" SCREAMED Mrs. Weasly over the noise being interrupted by more fireworks going off.

"We didn't mean to mum," said Fred

"They weren't suppose to be in the living room, honest mum; they were in my laundry bag.." said George.

The fireworks were finally stopped and Fred and George explained where they left the fireworks and Mr. Weasly remembered seeing Kreacher move Georges bag into the living room to do the laundry.

"well no body got hurt did they?" asked Mrs. Weasly?

"No" was heard around the room and Fred and George were spared punishment.

**"What's he on about now?" Sadie whispered to me. I didn't answer. I had a sneaking suspicion what stone they were talking about, but I couldn't figure out why Dad would drag us out on Christmas Eve to see it.I wondered what he'd been about to tell us at Cleopatra's Needle**

"probably something about their mom.." muttered Ron

**-something about our mother and the night she died. And why did he keep glancing around as if he expected those strange people we'd seen at the Needle to pop up again? We were locked in a museum surrounded by guards and high-tech security. Nobody could bother us in here- I hoped.**

"he jinxed it" was Tonks deadpanned reply to what Hermione had just read

**We turned left into the Egyptian wing. The walls were lined with massive statues of the pharaohs and gods, but dad bypassed them all and went straight for the main attraction in the middle of the room.**

"That's just screaming 'COME STEALL ME!' " said Sirius

**"Beautiful," my father murmured. "And it's not a replica?"**

**"No, no," the curator promised. "We don't always keep the actual stone on display, but for you- this is quite real."  
We were staring at a slab of dark gray rock about three feet tall and two feet wide. It sat on a pedestal, encased in a glass box. The flat surface of the stone was chiselled with three distinct bands of writing. The top part was Ancient Egyptian picture writing: hieroglyphics.**

"It must be the Rosetta Stone." said Bill

"um..what's that?" asked Harry

"It was the key to figuring out hieroglyphics Harry," supplied Hermione

**The middle section... I had to rack my brain to remember what my dad called it: Demotic, a kind of writing from the period when the Greeks controlled Egypt and a lot of the Greek words got mixed into Egyptian. The last lines were in Greek.**

"yep, it's the Rosetta Stone."

**"The Rosetta Stone," I said.**

"Thanks Bill, 'cause the book didn't just tell us"

Bill blushed a little at the comment

**"Isn't that a computer program?" Sadie asked.**

**I wanted to tell her how stupid she was, but the curator cut me off with a nervous laugh. "Young lady, the Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering hieroglyphics! It was discovered by Napoleon's army in 1799 and-"**

**"Oh, right," Sadie said. "I remember now."**

_"yea sure she does,"_ though Harry and just about everyone else

they all knew that she was just trying to get the curator to stop talking.

**I knew she was just saying that to shut him up, but my dad wouldn't let it go.**

**"Sadie." he said, "Until this stone was discovered, regular mortals...**

"He almost messed up..." muttered Kingsley with a frown.

Meanwhile Remus was finding it harder and harder to deny what he thought what may be happening, even though the other adults knew what he thought was happening, he still did not want this to be true; after all if these gods were real then what other gods were real?

**er, I mean, no one had been able to read hieroglyphics for centuries. The written language of Egypt had been completely forgotten. Then an Englishman named Thomas Young proved that the Rosetta Stone's three languages all conveyed the same message. A Frenchman named Champollion took up the work and cracked the code of hieroglyphics."**

"This sounds like one of Binns leasons..." muttered Sirius with a few others agreeing with him.

**Sadie chewed her gum, unimpressed. "What's it say, then?"  
Dad shrugged. "Nothing important.**

"...really?!" asked/demanded Sirius.

"calm down Sirius, it's not that big of a deal." said Tonks

"Not that big of a deal! NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL!" yelled Black, "I just felt like I was back in school! This! This is a big deal!"

For the sake of everyone's sanity Hermione just kept on reading

**It's basically a thank-you letter from some priests to King Potlemy V. When it was first carved, the stone was no big deal. But over the centuries...over the centuries it has become a powerful symbol. Perhaps the most important connection between Ancient Egypt and the modern world. I was a fool not to realize its potential sooner."**

Everyone started to lean forward as it seemed that the book was starting to pick up

**He'd lost me, and apparently the curator too.**

**"Dr. Kane?" he asked. " Are you feeling quite all right?"**

**Dad breathed deeply. "My apologies, Dr. Martin. I was just...thinking aloud. If I could have the glass removed? And if you could bring me the papers I asked for from your archives."**

"He doesn't need the papers, he just wants to be alone with this stone" said Fred

When everyone turned to look at the teen he blushed, but started to elaborate, "Obviously he wants it for some reason, I mean he did just rambled about its great potential, and asking for the papers after asking for the glass down? He wants the stone"

George was just a little shocked about how deeply his brother's mind had thought of this little part that everyone, including himself, just looked over

**Dr. Martin nodded. He pressed a code into a small remote control, and the front of the glass box clicked open.  
"It will take a few minutes to retrieve the notes," Dr. Martin said. "For anyone else, I would hesitate to grant unguarded access to the stone, as you've requested. I trust you'll be careful."**

"He jinxed it"

**He glanced at us kids like we were troublemakers.**

**"We'll be careful," Dad promised.**

"Double jinxed"

**As soon as Dr. Martin's steps receded, Dad turned to us with a frantic look in his eyes. "Children, this is very important. You have to stay out of this room."**

**He slipped his workbag off his shoulder and unzipped it just enough to pull out a bike chain and padlock. "Follow Dr. Martin. You'll find his office at the end of the Great Court on the left. There's only one entrance. Once he's inside, wrap this around the door handles and lock it tight. We need to delay him."**

Ron noticed that he was starting to lean closer to Hermione as she read and blushed as he slowly leaned back in his seat, he looked around to see if anyone noticed and luckily it looked like no one did.

**"You want us to lock him in?" Sadie asked, suddenly interested. "Brilliant!"**

Everyone chuckled a little at this Sadie's antics

**"Dad," I said, "what's going on?"**

**"We don't have enough time for explanations," he said. "This will be our only chance. They're coming."**

"Who's coming!?" asked Mad-eye

"Who knows, it's probably those people from before though," replied Tonks

**"Who's coming?" Sadie asked.**

**He took Sadie by the shoulders. "Sweetheart, I love you. And I'm sorry... I'm sorry for many things, but there's no time now. If this works, I promise I'll make everything better for all of us. Carter, you're my brave man. You have to trust me. Remember, lock up Dr. Martin. Then stay out of this room!"**

"Why..." Ginny gulped, "why does this feel like a goodbye?"

"That's because it probably is dear, remember the title of the chapter.." replied Mrs. Weasly

**Chaining the curators' door was easy. But as soon as we'd finished, we looked back the way we'd come and saw blue light streaming from the Egyptian gallery,**

"That'd definitely magic," said Kingsley, "and powerful magic too."

**as if our dad had installed a giant glowing aquarium.  
Sadie locked eyes with me. "Honestly, do you have **_**any **_**idea what he's up to?"**

**"None," I said."But he's been acting strange lately. Thinking a lot about Mom. He keeps her picture..."**

**I didn't want to say more. Fortunately Sadie nodded like she understood.**

**"What's in his workbag?" she asked.**

**"I don't know. He told me never to look."**

"And he never did?" asked Lupin.

"this guy is hopeless," said Sirius.

**Sadie raised an eyebrow. "And you never did? God, that is so like you Carter. You're hopeless."**

Everyone laughed at the fact that the two Muraders just said pretty much the same thing as Sadie

**I wanted to defend myself, but just then a tremor shook the floor.**

**Startled, Sadie grabbed my arm. "He told us to stay put. I suppose you're going to follow that order too?"**

"Yes, they should follow this order," snapped Mrs. Weasly

"It would be very dangerous for them if they went in there, even more so if they didn't know about magic; which they probably don't." Said Mr. Weasly

**Actually, that order was sounding pretty good to me, but Sadie sprinted down the hall, and after a moment's hesitation, I ran after her.**

"Let's hope they're going to be okay." said Tonks

Remus put a hand on his wife's shoulder as Hermione continued to read

**When we reach the entrance of the Egyptian gallery, we stopped dead in out tracks. Our dad stood in front of the Rosetta Stone with his back to us. A blue circle glowed on the floor around him,**

"Is that magic?" asked Fred, he was looking at his dad but it was Lupin that answered him,

"Yes, we believe that it is their...culture's...unique magic"

all of the "children" noticed that the adults were glancing from one another like they were having a silent conversation; and because, magic, they most likely were

**as if someone had switched on hidden neon tubes in the floor.**

**My dad had thrown off his overcoat.**

"Things just got serious," yelled Sirius!

**His workbag lay open at his feet, revealing a wooden box about two feet long, painted with Egyptian images.**

the tension in the room was starting to rise as more things were coming to light

**"What's he holding?" Sadie whispered to me. "Is that a boomerang?"**

**Sure enough, when Dad raised his hand, he was brandishing a curved white stick. It did look like a boomerang. But instead of throwing the stick, he touched it to the Rosetta Stone. Sadie caught her breath. Dad was **_**writing **_**on the stone.**

"Whoa. Writing? On a stone?"

"That is what it said Bill."

**Wherever the boomerang made contact, glowing blue lines appeared on the granite. Hieroglyphs.**

**It made no sense. How could he write glowing words with a stick?**

'yea, how?' was in everyone's mind before they clued in that the 'boomerang' was probably a wand

**But the image was bright and clear: ram's horns above a box and an X.**

Hermione showed the picture around the room

**"**_**Open,**_**" Sadie murmured.**

"How'd she know that? I barely know that!" exclaimed Bill

"maybe it'll be explained?" said George, though he didn't sound too sure

**I stared at her, because it sounded like she had just translated the word, but that was impossible. I'd been hanging around Dad for years, and even I could read only a few hieroglyphs. They were serious hard to learn.**

**Dad raised his arms. He chanted: "**_**Wo-seer, i-ei.**_**" And two more hieroglyphic symbols burned blue against the surface of the Rosetta Stone.**

Again Hermione showed the picture around the room, this time Bill looked more closely at it, trying to figure out what it was.

"OK, so it involves the God of the dead, that much I could get."

"Wait! God? as in capital G God?" asked Harry.

"God of the dead? as in there's _other _gods for other things?" Ron also asked.

On impulse they looked towards Hermione for an answer, but it was Tonks that answered this time, "Yes, Harry with a capital G and Ron there are tons of Egyptian Gods in the myths; like the God of the dead, the Sky, the Sun and moon, even one for crocodiles."

Seeing some of the looks the other adults were throwing her she clarified on how she knew this, " I learned a little of them in one of my classes at school, not a whole lot though."

**As stunned as I was, I recognized the first symbol. It was the name of the Egyptian god of the dead.  
"Wo-seer," I whispered. I'd never heard it pronounced that way, But I knew what it meant, "Osiris."**

**"**_**Osiris, come,**_**" Sadie said,**

"Again, how does she know this!" Bill asked.

**as if in a trance. Then her eyes widened. "No!" she shouted. "Dad, no!"**

"Wow, you'd think he was actually calling this dude, "Fred joked.

To themselves the adults were wondering if he really was

**Our father turned in surprise. He started to say, "Children-"  
But it was too late. The ground rumbled. The blue light turned to searing white, and the Rosetta Stone exploded.**

"BANG!" Screamed Ginny

**When I regained consciousness, the first thing I heard was laughter- horrible, gleeful laughter mixed with the blare of the museum's security alarms.**

"That's weird, maybe their dad really is insane?" said Charlie

"Hmm, something tells me it's not their dad that's laughing." muttered Mad-eye

**I felt like I'd just been run over like a tractor.**

All the quidditch players knew how this felt

**I sat up, dazed, and spit a piece of Rosetta Stone out of my mouth. The gallery was in ruins. Waves of fire rippled in pools along the floor. Giant statues had toppled. Sarcophagi had been knocked off their pedestals. Pieces of the Rosetta Stone had exploded outward with such force that they'd embedded themselves in the columns, the walls, the other exhibits.  
Sadie was passed out next to me,**

Mrs. Weasly started to fret for both Sadie and Carter, even though she had never met them she was still worried about them

**but she looked unharmed.**

Molly silently sighed in relief that the child was alright

**I shook her shoulder, and she grunted, "Ugh."**

"Ha! Sounds like your kind of girl Fred," Joked his twin

**In front of us, where the Rosetta Stone had been, stood a smoking, sheared-off pedestal. The floor was blackened in a starburst pattern, except for the glowing blue circle around our father.  
He was facing our direction, but he didn't seem to be looking at us. A bloody cut ran across his scalp. He gripped the boomerang tightly.  
I didn't understand what he was looking at. Then the horrible laughter echoed around the room again, and I realized it was coming from right in front of me.**

"DANGIT REMUS! Why can't you be wrong for once!" flipped Sirius

**Something stood between our father and us. At first, I could barely make it out- just a flicker of heat. But as I concentrated, it took on a vague form- the fiery outline of a man.**

**He was taller than Dad, and his laugh cut through me like a chainsaw.  
"Well done," He said to my father. "Very well done, Julius."**

**"You were not summoned!" My father's voice trembled. He held up the boomerang, but the fiery man flicked one finger, and the stick flew from Dad's hand, shattering against the wall.**

"was that wand less magic?" Asked Hermione but she received no answer.

**"I am never summoned, Julius," the man purred**

Bill looked like someone just told him that the Dark Lord was personally looking for him, it was obvious he knew who this guy was, but he wasn't sharing

**"But when you open a door, you must be prepared for guests to walk through."**

Kingsley silently nodded at this metaphor

**"Back to the Duat!"**

"Back to the what?" asked Charlie

"The Duat, is the realm of the god Osiris and the residence of other gods and supernatural beings. It is the region through which the sun god Ra travels from west to east during the night, and where he battled Apep. It also was the place where people's souls went after death for judgement, though that was not the full extent of the afterlife." Explained Bill.

**My father roared. "I have the power of the Great King!"  
"Oh, scary," the fiery man said with amusement. "And even if you knew how to use that power, which you do not, he was never my match. I am the strongest. Now you will share his fate."**

"That doesn't sound to good," said Mr. Weasly.

**I couldn't make sense of anything, but I knew that I had to help my dad. I tried to pick up the nearest chunk of stone, but I was so terrified my fingers felt frozen and numb. My hands were useless.  
Dad shot me a silent look of warning: **_**Get out. **_**I realized he was intentionally keeping the fiery man's back to us, hoping Sadie and I would escape unnoticed.**

_"GO"_ was running through everyone's mind

**Sadie was still groggy. I managed to drag her behind a column, into the shadows. When she started to protest, I clamped my hand over her mouth. That woke her up. She saw what was happening and stopped fighting.  
Alarms blared. Fire circled around the doorway of the gallery. The guards had to be on their way, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing for us.**

"Probably not." said Harry

**Dad crouched to the floor, keeping his eyes on the enemy,**

"Good," muttered Moody

**and opened his painted wooden box. He brought out a small rod like a ruler. He muttered something under his breath and the rod elongated into a wooden staff as tall as he was.**

"They use staffs _and_ wands? What else do they use? Swords?" Cried Tonks  
Around the table there was some agreeing with her, just the idea of using a staff or sword was such a foreign concept to them, maybe at some point in wizarding history they had used them but definitely not now when wands were so much easier.

Harry had started to snicker and then started to laugh as he thought about them using staffs, Ron wanted to know what was so funny, "oh, it's nothing Ron. I just kind of imagined Dumbledore using a staff, but then he'd look way to0 much like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings!"

"What's lord of the ring mate?"

"Muggle play. It's just a Muggle play." Came the slight disappointment, honestly, sometimes these purebloods were missing out on such great things!

**Sadie made a squeaking sound. I couldn't believe my eyes either, but things only got weirder.**

Hermione stopped for a moment in the reading and quietly muttered, "They always do."  
Silently Harry was agreeing with her.

**Dad through his staff at the fiery man's feet ,and it changed into an enormous serpent- ten feet long and as big around as I was- with coppery scales and glowing red eyes. It lunged at the fiery man who effortlessly grabbed the serpent by its neck.**

"Well, I don't recall Gandalf's staff doing _that _at any point!" Exclaimed Granger.

**The man's hand burst into white-hot flames, and the snake burned to ashes.  
"An old trick, Julius." the fiery man chided.  
My dad glanced at us, silently urging us again to run. Part of me refused to believe any of this was real. Maybe I was unconscious, having a nightmare.**

Cause for some laughs at that hope.

**Next to me, Sadie picked up a chunk of stone.  
"How many?" my dad asked quickly, trying to keep the fiery man's attention. "How many did I release?"**

"Yea...how many?" asked Bill and Lupin

**"Why, all five,"**

this one little sentence caused Bill Weasley to drop his head onto the table in front of him

**the man said, as if explaining something to a child. "You should know we're a package deal, Julius. Soon I'll release even more, and they'll be very grateful. I shall be named King again."**

"WHY!? WHY!? WHY!?" muttered Bill, each why accompanied by a head smack to the table.

The teenagers were really starting to question what was going on, in fact, if Hermione wasn't the one reading she most likely would be demanding answers, but now it was coming to the point where all of them would and will

**"The Demon Days," my father said. "They'll stop you before it's too late."**

**The fiery man laughed. "You think the House can stop me? Those old fools can't even stop arguing among themselves. Now let the story be told anew. And this time you shall**_** never**_** rise!"**

"What does _that_ mean?"  
"What house?"  
"What are the demon days?" These were some of the questions that were currently being yelled by the teens to the adults (mostly Bill) but none of them answered.

**The fiery man waved his hand. The blue circle at Dad's feet went dark. Dad grabbed for his toolbox, but it skittered across the floor.**

**"Good bye, Osiris," the fiery man said.  
**

no body spoke but they were all thinking one thing, 'the heck is going on?!'

**With another flick of his hand, he conjured a glowing coffin around our dad. At first it was transparent, but as our father struggled and pounded on its sides, the coffin became more and more solid- a golden Egyptian sarcophagus inlaid with jewels. My dad caught my eyes one last time, and mouthed the word **_**Run**_**! before the coffin sank into the floor, as if the ground had turned to water.**

"Bloody hell!" whispered someone

**"Dad!" I screamed.**

**Sadie threw her stone, but it sailed harmlessly through the fiery man's head. He turned, and for one terrible moment, his face appeared in the flames. What I saw made no sense. It was as if someone had superimposed two different faces on top of each other- one almost human, with pale skin, cruel, angular features, and glowing red eyes, the other like an animal with dark fur and sharp fangs. Worse than a dog, or a wolf or a lion- some animal I'd never seen before. Those red eyes stared at me, and I knew I was going to die.**

Molly and Tonks both epped a little at that, thinking of the poor children.

**Behind me, heavy footsteps echoed on the marble floor of the Great Court. Voices were barking orders. The security guards, maybe the police- but they'd never get here in time. The fiery man lunged at us.  
A few inches from my face, something shoved him backward. The air sparked with electricity. The amulet around my neck grew uncomfortably hot. The fiery man hissed, regarding me more carefully. "So...it's **_**you**_**."**

"Can somebody PLEASE explain what is going on! It's obvious you guys at least have an idea," yelled a fed up Harry.

"We will Harry, don't worry. But let's wait till the end of this chapter Ok?" said Sirius

**The building shook again. At the opposite end of the room, part of the wall exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Two people stepped through the gap- the man and the girl we'd seen at the Needle, their robes swirling around them. Both of them held staffs.  
The fiery man snarled. He looked at me one last time and said, "Soon, boy."**

**Then the entire room erupted in flames. A blast of heat sucked all the air out of my lungs and I crumpled to the floor. The last thing I remember, the man with the forked beard and the girl in the blue were standing over me. I heard the security guards running and shouting, getting closer. The girl crouched over me and drew a long curved knife from her belt.**

**"We must act quickly," she told the man.**

**"Not yet," he said with some reluctance. His thick accent sounded French. "We must be sure before we destroy them."**

**I closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.**

Hermione snapped the book shut and proclaimed, "Chapters over, now explain."

It was time to get down to business and no one had any idea on how to explain this.

"OK, so you know how they were talking about Osiris, God of the Dead? Well, he was one of five children to the sky Goddess and his other siblings were Isis, Horus, Nephthys, and the last one Set. I believe that the 'fiery man' is Set." explained Bill

"That's not possible though! Egyptian Gods don't exist!" was yelled at him by the teens.

"Look, we don't understand all of this ourselves ok. But their Gods were always closely tied with their magic, so it does make sense. The book will probably explain more later." said Lupin.

There were a lot of sceptical looks cast between the teens, this was a lot to take in, in one morning.

"Look, we've read our morning away, why don't we take a break this afternoon ok? Then we'll do a full day of reading tomorrow," spoke Molly trying to diffuse the tension in the air.

Hermione put the book on the table and went with Ron and Harry up to the boys shared bedroom, everyone else slowly left the room as well.


	4. Imprisoned with My Cat

**As always: I do not own the books**

As the adults quickly left the kitchen to avoid the many questions that were awaiting them the teenagers were left to themselves.  
"So...Egyptian Gods Hu? What's next, Greek?" asked Ginny jokingly  
they all sat at the table for a minute before George thought of something, "You know...if the Greek gods did exist, then so would the Romans ..."

"why not throw the bloody Norse Gods into the mix too eh!?" cried Ron

Not wanting to talk anymore about these so called "Gods" the teens left the kitchen to find a more comfortable place to hang out where Harry and Hermione then proceeded to educate them on their Muggle references, it was time these purebloods knew the magic of Muggle televisions.

They didn't start reading again until the next day.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE RED WHAT~~~~~~~~THE RED WHAT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Harry climbed down the old stairs of Grimmauld place thinking about what they had discovered the day before.

It was a lot to take in.

Ron didn't seem to be handling the new about Gods existing too well and to be honest, it didn't look like a lot of the others were either. The Dursleys weren't religious so Harry didn't grow up with just _thee_ God, but now to find out that more than one was could actually exist!

Harry decided to stop thinking about it as he made his way to breakfast, he sat down in front of Sirius and in between Hermione and Ron.

After a filling breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, baked potatoes, and toast all made by Molly. The book came out and before anyone could protest Sirius started to read.

**Imprisoned with my Cat**

"What is up with these titles?" asked Arthur

**Hullo. Sadie here. My brother's a rubbish storyteller. Sorry about that. But now you've got me, so all is well.**

**Let's see. The explosion. Rosetta stone in a billion pieces. Fiery evil bloke. Dad boxed in a coffin. Creepy Frenchman and Arab girl with the knife. Us passing out. Right.**

"That about sums it up." Harry muttered to his two friends.

**So when I woke up, the police were rushing about as you might expect. They separated me from my brother. I didn't really mind that part. He's a pain anyway. But they locked me in the curator's office for **_**ages**_**. And they used **_**our**_** bicycle chain to do it. Cretins.**

**I was shattered, or course. I'd just been knocked out by a fiery whatever-it-was. I'd watched my dad get packed in a sarcophagus and shot through the floor. I tried to tell the police about all that, but did they care? No.**

**Worst of all: I had a lingering chill, as if someone was pushing ice-cold needles into the back of my neck. It had started when I looked at those blue glowing words Dad had drawn on the Rosetta Stone and I **_**knew**_** what they meant. A family disease, perhaps? Can knowledge of boring Egyptian stuff be hereditary? With my luck.**

"...No it can't and hieroglyphics are seriously hard to learn."

There was a moment of silence as everyone wondered what was wrong with Sadie

**Long after my gum had gone stale, a policewoman finally retrieved me from the curator's office. She asked me no questions. She just trundled me into a police car and took me home. Even then, I wasn't allowed to explain to Gram and Gramps. The policewoman just tossed me into my room and I waited. And waited.**

**I don't like waiting.**

**I paced the floor. My room was nothing posh, just an attic space with a window and a bed and a desk. There wasn't much to do. Muffin sniffed my legs and her tail puffed up like a bottlebrush.**

"The cat knows something." said Moody

"Like Crookshanks!"

**I suppose she doesn't fancy the smell of museums. She hissed and disappeared under the bed.**

**"Thanks a lot," I muttered.**

**I opened the door, but the policewoman was standing guard.**

**"The inspector will be with you in a moment," she told me. "Please stay inside."**

**I could see downstairs- just a glimpse of Gramps pacing the room, wringing his hands, while Carter and a police inspector talked on the sofa. I couldn't make out what they were saying.**

**"Could I just use the loo?" I asked the officer.**

**"No." She closed the door in my face. As if I might rig an explosive in the toilet. Honestly.**

"Hey Fred, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Why brother dear, you know I am."

"You boys will not be doing anything like that!" Scolded Molly.

**I dug out my iPod and scrolled through my playlist. Nothing struck me. I threw it on my bed in disgust. When I'm too distracted for music, that is a very sad thing. I wondered why Carter got to talk to the police first. It wasn't fair.**

**I fiddled with the necklace Dad had given me. I'd never been sure what the symbol meant. Carter's was obviously an eye, but mine looked a bit like an angel, or perhaps a killer alien robot.**

Sirius smirked as he read this bit, this was a cool girl he thought

**Why on earth had Dad asked if I still had it? **_**Of course**_** I still had it. It was the only gift he'd ever given me. Well, apart from Muffin, and with the cat's attitude, I'm not sure I would call he a proper gift.**

**Dad had practically abandoned me at age six, after all. The necklace was my only link to him. On good days I would stare at it and remember him fondly, On bad days (which were much more frequent) I would fling it across the room and stomp on it and curse him for not being around, which I found quite therapeutic. But in the end, I always put it back on.**

**At any rate, during the weirdness at the museum- and I'm not making this up- the necklace got **_**hotter**_**. I nearly took it off, but I couldn't help wondering if it truly was protecting me somehow.**

_**I'll make things right**_**, Dad had said, with that guilty look he often gives me.**

**Well, colossal fail, Dad.**

"At least he tried dear" fretted Molly

At the sounds of it, it didn't seem like Dr. Kane wanted to give his daughter up but at the same time it sounded like he didn't try again to get his daughter back

**What had he been thinking? I wanted to believe it had all been a bad dream: the glowing hieroglyphs, the snake staff, the coffin. Things like that simply don't happen. But I knew better. I couldn't dream anything as horrifying as that fiery man's face when he'd turned on us. "Soon, boy," he'd told Carter, as if he intended to track us down. Just the idea made my hands tremble. I also couldn't help wondering about our stop at Cleopatra's Needle, how Dad had insisted on seeing t, as if he were steeling his courage, as if what he did at the British Museum had something to do with my mum.**

**My eyes wandered across my room and fixed on my desk.**

_**No**_**, I thought . **_**Not going to do it.**_

"do what?"

**But I walked over and opened the drawer. I shoved aside a few old mags.**

Arthur opened his mouth to ask what 'mags' were but before he could Ginny answered, "they're magazines dad. And we have them too"

"Oh. Right."

**my stash of sweets, a stack of maths homework I'd forgotten to hand in, and a few pictures of me and my mates Liz ad Emma trying on ridiculous hats in Camden Market. And there at the bottom or it all was the picture of mum.**

**Gran and Gramps have loads of pictures. They keep a shrine to Ruby in the hall cupboard - Mum's childhood art work, her O-leveled results, her graduation picture from university, her favorite jewelry. It's quite mental. I was determined not to be like them, living in the past. I barely remembered Mum, after all, and nothing could change the fact that she was dead.**

_and nothing could change the fact that she was dead_

that one sentence ran through Harry's head and he felt rather than seen all the pitying stares he was getting from the adults in the room

**But I did keep the one picture. It was of Mum and me at our house in Los Angeles, just after I was born. She stood out on the balcony, the Pacific Ocean behind her, holding a wrinkled pudgy lump of baby that would someday grow up to be yours truly . Baby me was not much to look at, but Mum was gorgeous, even in shorts and a tattered T-shirt. Her eyes were deep blue. Her blond hair was clipped back. Her skin was perfect. Quite depressing compared to mine. People always say I look like her, but I couldn't even get the spot off my chin much less look so mature and beautiful.**

**The photo fascinated me because I hardly remembered our lives together at all. But the main reason I'd kept the photo was because of the symbol on Mum's T-shirt: one of those life symbols-an ankh.**

**My dead mother wearing the symbol of life. Nothing could've been sadder.**

"Oh my God,this is really depressing!" cried Charlie

"Gods"

"Dang it Bill!"

**But she smiled at the camera as if she knew a secret. As if my dad and she were sharing a private joke.**

**Something tugged at the back of my mind. That stocky man in the trench coat who'd arguing with Dad across the street- he'd said something about the Per Ankh.**

**Had he meant **_**ankh **_**as in the symbol for life, and if so, what was a**_** per**_**? I supposed he didn't mean pear as in the fruit.**

"Nope. _Per _Ankh, it's the house of life." supplied Bill.

**I had an eerie feeling that if I saw the words **_**Per Ankh**_** written in hieroglyphics, I would know what they meant.**

**I put down the picture of Mum. I picked up a pencil and turned over one of my old homework papers. I wondered what would happen if I tried to **_**draw**_** the words **_**PerAnkh**_**. Would the right design just occur to me?**

**As I touched pencil to paper, my bedroom door opened. "Miss Kane?"**

**I whirled and dropped the pencil.**

**A police inspector stood frowning in my doorway. "What are you doing?"**

**"Maths," I said.**

"Oh yes, v_ery _believing." sighed George

**My ceiling was quite low, so the inspector had to stoop to come in. He wore a lint-colored suit that matched his gray hair and ashen face. "Now then, Sadie. I'm Chief Inspector Williams. Let's have a chat, shall we? Sit down."**

**I didn't sit, and neither did he, which must've annoyed him. It's hard to look in charge when you're hunched over like Quasimodo.**

**"Tell me everything, please," he said, "from the time your father came round to get you."**

**"I already told the police at the museum."**

**"Again, if you don't mind."**

**So I told him everything. Why not? His left eyebrow crept higher and higher as I told him the strange bits like the glowing letters and serpent staff.**

Various Order members burst into laughter as they imagined a big burly man crunched over with his eyebrows steadily creeping up and up his face. The other members, the ones who were just a little more mature, tried to stifle their laughter and hide their smiles behind their hands.

It took a little while for them to start reading again since Sirius was still practically rolling on the floor laughing

**"Well Sadie," Inspector Williams said. "You've got quite an imagination."**

**"I'm not lying, Inspector. And I think your eyebrow is trying to escape."**

**He tried to look at his own eyebrows, then scowled. "Now, Sadie, I'm sure this is very hard on you. I understand you want to protect your father's reputation. But he's gone now -"**

"_RUDE!_"

**"You mean through the floor in a coffin," I insisted. "He's not dead."**

**Inspector Williams spread his hands. "Sadie, I'm very sorry. But we must find out why he did this act of...well..."**

**"Act of **_**what?**_**"**

**He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Your father destroyed priceless artifacts and apparently killed himself in the process. We'd very much like to know why."**

**I stared at him. "Are you saying my father's a terrorist? Are you **_**mad?**_**"**

**"We've made calls to some of your father's associates. I understand his behavior had become erratic since your mother's death.**

"He's grieving! Give a man a break!"

**He'd become withdrawn and obsessive in his studies, spending more and more time in Egypt-"**

"He's a bloody Egyptologist!"

**"He's a bloody Egyptologist!**

**You should be looking for him, not asking stupid questions!"**

**"Sadie," he said, and I could hear in his voice that he was resisting the urge to strangle me. Strangely, I get this a lot from adults. "There are extremist groups in Egypt that object to Egyptian artifacts being kept in other countries' museums. These people might have approached your father. Perhaps in his state, your father became an easy target for them. If you've heard him mention any names-"**

**I stormed past him to the window. I was so angry I could hardly think. I refuse to believe Dad was dead. No no, no. And terrorist? Please. Why did adults have to be so thick?**

**They always say "tell the truth," and when you do, they don't believe you. What's the point?"**

**I stared down at the dark street. Suddenly that cold tingly feeling got worse than ever. I focused on the dead tree where I'd met Dad earlier. Standing there now, in the dim light of a streetlamp, looking up at me, was the pudgy bloke in the black trench coat and the round glasses and the fedora - the man Dad had called Amos.**

**I suppose I should had felt threatened by and odd man starring up at me in the dark of night.**

"Yea, you really should. Someone needs to teach this girl about stranger danger!"

**But his expression was full of concern. And he looked**_** so **_**familiar. It was driving me mad that I couldn't remember why. **

**Behind me, the inspector cleared his throat. "Sadie, no one blames you for the attack on the museum. We understand you were dragged into this against your will."**

**I turned from the window. "Against my will? I chained the curator in his office."**

**The inspector's eyebrow started to creep up again. "Be that as it may, surely you didn't understand what your father meant to do. Possibly your brother was involved?"**

**I snorted. "Carter? Please."**

**"So you are determined to protect him as well. You consider him a proper brother, do you?"**

Tonks finally exploded, she had been listening to the others yell at Sirius so by extension they were yelling at the Inspector, "I bloody hate this guy! I know he's just doing his job, but I mean come on! That is a low move right there!"

"Hey, a Tonks, you ok?" asked Remus

"Yea, yea I'm fine. I just _really _don't like this inspector guy"

**I couldn't believe it. I wanted to smack his face. "What's that supposed to mean? Because he doesn't **_**look **_**like me?"**

**The inspector blinked. "I only meant -"**

**"I**_** know **_**what you meant. Of course he's my brother!"**

**Inspector Williams held up his hands apologetically, but I was still seething. As much as Carter annoyed me, I hated it when people assumed we weren't related, or looked at my father askance when he said the three of us were a family - like we'd done something wrong. Stupid Dr. Martin at the museum. Inspector Williams. It happened every time Dad and Carter and I were together. **_**Every **_**bloody time.**

**"I'm sorry, Sadie," the inspector said. "I only want to make sure we separate the innocent from the guilty. It will go much easier for everyone if you cooperate. Any information. Anything your father said. People he might've mentioned."**

**"Amos," I blurted out, just to see his reaction. "He met a man named Amos."**

**Inspector Williams sighed. "Sadie, he couldn't have done. Surely you know that. We spoke with Amos not one hour ago,**

"So they know Amos as well, then their connection must not be private..." Arthur thought out load.

He like everyone else was trying to figure out just who exactly this Amos guy was

**on the phone from his home in New York."**

"Wait! What?" Sirius exclaimed

the others were in a similar state of shock Sirius even re-read the line again, "on the phone from his home in New York, that's what it says! But how is that possible?"

"Maybe Portkey? It would be the most obvious way," Molly tried to explain.

**I glanced out the window and Amos was gone. Bloody typical.**

**"That's not possible," I said.**

**"Exactly," the inspector said.**

**"But he was here!" I exclaimed. "Who **_**is **_**he? One of Dad's colleagues? How did you know to call him?"**

**"Really, Sadie. This acting must stop."**

**"**_**Acting?**_**"**

"Really not liking this guy even more now."

**The inspector studied me for a moment, then set his jaw as if he'd made a decision. "We've already had the truth from Carter. I didn't want to upset you, but he told us everything. He understands there's no point protecting your father now. You might as well help us, and there will be no charges against you."**

**"You shouldn't lie to children!"**

"Yea Mum," George joked

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Molly

"Santa Clause, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, the list goes on and on mother dear," Fred added on

**I yelled, hoping my voice carried all the way downstairs. "Carter would never say a word against Dad, and neither will I!"**

**The inspector didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. He crossed his arms. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sadie. I'm afraid it's time we went downstairs... to discuss consequences with your grandparents."**

"And that's it for chapter three," Sirius said as he closed the book


	5. Authors Note

**Hey guys.**

**Sorry, but if you haven't suspected by now, I'm putting this story on Hiatus. I no longer have any inspiration or the time to continue this story. Again I'm sorry, I know I didn't get to far into this and if someone here wants to take over or make a new version of this story please do so. **

**Bye guys**


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